As an external PhD student at the Department of Spatial Transformation in the Digital Age, I am investigating the role that conflicts with civil society play in the mobility transition in rural areas. In doing so, I combine a planning theory perspective with the qualitative empirical study of selected case studies. Based on these, I identify the determining mechanisms of conflict processing and work out to what extent spatial planning can use the potential of these conflicts. With this research project I build on my studies in urban and regional planning and use the practical experience I gained during my professional work in the field of sustainable mobility in Germany and abroad.